New state system ranks McCook Public Schools 'excellent' or 'great'

McCOOK, Neb. -- Two McCook Public schools were designated as excellent and another two as great, under the new ranking system developed by the Nebraska Department of Education.

The new ranking, called AQuESTT -- Accountability for a Quality Education System Today and Tomorrow -- classifies all 245 public school districts and 1,130 public schools into four performance areas: excellent, great, good or needs improvement. The report was released today. Previously, schools were ranked numerically by performance on state assessments and graduation scores.

McCook Senior High and McCook Elementary were classified as excellent, the highest rating, with McCook Junior High and Central Elementary as great. The McCook School District overall was ranked as great.

"I don't know why specifically we didn't get excellent in all the buildings," said McCook Public School superintendent Grant Norgaard. "I'm a little bit bothered because I know all the schools in our district are excellent, based on the high performance of the students and teachers." Norgaard said he believes MHS and Central Elementary were right on the cusp of being ranked excellent and just missed the cut-off point.

The excellent rating is something "very few schools will achieve," Norgaard said. According to the Nebraska Department of Education, 13.01 percent of the schools, or 147 public schools, were classified excellent under the new system. The majority of schools, 473 or 41.86 percent, were classified as great and 423 schools, or 37.43 percent, as good. Eighty seven schools in Nebraska, or 7.70 percent, were designated as in need of improvement.

The new ranking gives schools credit for improved test scores and adopting programs the state has recommended. Schools can improve their rank by implementing certain programs the state has specified, Norgaard said, such as career or college readiness.

Other findings from the new ranking system showed:

* 38 or about 3.36 percent of the schools received credit for increasing the percentage of their students who were proficient on state tests.

* 27 or 2.39 percent received credit for growth because a certain percentage of the same students tested last year in reading and math improved their tests scores this year.

* 32 or 2.83 percent of the schools received credit for improvement because the school's average state test scores over the past three years improved.